Alternative path to Private Equity?
I’m about to start my second year at Columbia University, and am wondering if pursuing a career in investment banking is the correct way to achieve my goals. Many older students that I’ve talked to seem to think that the path to private equity is clear: college > intern at bulge-bracket > analyst at bulge-bracket > PE. My long-term goal is to invest in tech companies, so private equity sounds like a great option, but I’m wondering if there are other paths to get there.
My major is undecided, but right now I am leaning towards Computer Science. I am considering software engineering as a potential path to private equity. I think it would be cool to have the opportunity to work on real products as opposed to being an excel monkey (I know I’d be a coding monkey but I can live with that for 2 years). I also think working at a successful tech company would teach me about how to invest in them, and I will build a unique network that people who came through Wall Street will not have. After graduating from an Ivy and a Prep School, my network in finance will no doubt be large. Silicon Valley pay is very good, and the hours are much better.
I was previously considering investment banking, but only because it was the path to PE, not too much about it sounds appealing to me.
Would it be feasible to take this career path and land in PE: college > IB/PE internship (for valuations experience) > software engineering or product manager entry job > business school > PE?
I’m also considering tech consulting, as I could work on many cases. However, I am interested in working on products as well.
I think working at a tech company would provide me with a unique perspective, and I could develop many of the finance skills in business school or during my IB/PE internships throughout college. Being a software engineer could teach me about developing products in case I want to start my own company later on, and being a product manager could teach me more about the business side of technology companies.
I’m still very in between career paths right now, but I am sure that I don’t want to be an over-stressed excel monkey working absurd hours.
Hey b3932901, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your topic! Bummer...could just be unlucky but one of these topics will help shed some light:
I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
I think there's a few things to tackle here.
Firstly, you're assuming that after two years of being an "excel monkey", in PE you won't be an excel monkey any more, hence why you'd like to bypass the analyst stint. But that's not the case, and if you hate excel modelling, life in PE is not gonna be fun. In fact, you also say IB doesn't sound appealing to you. Well, IB is one of the most similar jobs you can have to PE, which as expected is one of the reasons most people in PE have worked in IB.
Secondly, based on the way you frame your goal, it seems you're more interested in a VC type role (or angel investor) rather than PE. Luckily, for that you don't necessarily need a lot of excel and the path of getting there is not as structured (ie. joining from a senior tech role or tech entrepreneurship is a valid path).
Thirdly, working as a software engineer doesn't really develop your deal making skills, and you will still face an uphill struggle to leverage an internship and some classes at business school vs years of IB experiences your other MBA colleagues have. At least the ones targeting PE after MBA.
So, forth and final point, why do you want to work in PE in the first place? Other than "my long-term goal is to invest in tech companies", it seems you're not particularly fond of the day to day job.
What you are describing may be a good path to VC, not PE. PE is very focused on the finance side of the equation and honestly they could care less about your coding knowledge. They hire tech diligence firms to do that for them. So it sounds to me that you really need to figure out if you like what the PE job is vs looking to VC.
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